Barcelona have received a positive signal from the Brazil national team camp. Carlo Ancelotti has decided to handle Raphinha's physical condition with caution, easing the growing concern at the Catalan club that the pressure of matches and international travel is pushing their forward towards overexertion.
According to the Catalan newspaper "Sport", citing the Brazilian website "Globo Esporte", Raphinha sat out Brazil's first training session on Tuesday in Singapore. Having joined the camp earlier that same day, he limited himself to gym work and never went out onto the pitch with his teammates.
The decision forms part of a preventive plan from Brazil's coaching staff, designed to manage the players' physical workloads and keep health problems at bay. It did not stop with the Barcelona star. Bruno Guimaraes, Gabriel Magalhaes and Vanderson were also rested from the first session.
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Flick's concerns find an echo in the Brazil camp
Raphinha's fitness carries particular weight at Barcelona. He has become one of the key cogs in Hansi Flick's system, and the German coach has already voiced his unease at the frequency of international trips and the physical toll piling up on his players.
Those concerns grew after the muscular problems the Brazilian suffered during the last international break. Flick responded by demanding better management of his minutes to stop the same thing happening again.
Earlier, Flick revealed he had raised the issue with Deco, Barcelona's sporting director, saying: "I spoke with Deco, and I would be happy if we could reduce the number of his playing minutes."
Brazil are now preparing for two friendlies against Japan and Singapore, keen to rebuild the physical readiness of all their internationals step by step.